I have watched racing almost my entire life, and have seen thousands of racing accidents, but I have never seen anything as horrifying as that wreck on Sunday. I am saddened by the loss of Dan Wheldon, but giving the severety of the wreck thankfull that no other drivers were killed.

I have always said that the open wheel cars are way to unsafe. The wheels break off w/ the slightest bump, and the bodies come apart way too easily. Add in the fact that the driver has nothing but a helmet to protect them, is just so unsafe. I never understood why these cars don't have a rollbar or a roof of some kind to protect them. Are they worried that such a devise would impeed a drivers vision? Is it so the fans can see their fav drivers? I don't get it. There is nothing to keep a wheel from coming off a car and hitting another driver in the head? #### even if they had a clear roof like a fighterjet, they need to have something.

I also agree w/ Jimmie Johnson when he says that Indy should not run on ovals. 225mph is way too fast to be driving in these cars. The wreck Sunday was proof of that. Those cars took off like missles flying through the air. Leave them race roadcourses where the speeds dont get so high.

I have to disagree CS. The reason people watch racing is for the speeds. I think if Indy car just ran road courses, there would be alot less people watching than there is now. I do agree however, that there should be some sort of roll cage to protect the driver a little better. On a slightly different topic, what does everyone think about Tony Kannan's statement afterwards that when he dies, he hopes he dies just like Dan did?

" I've got a cooler full of Schlitz and I'm not gonna stop drinkin till I get to the bottom." - Tony Stewart

Drivers know the risk they are taking when they strap themselves into a racecar, and they take that risk willingly. However I agree w/ J.J. about putting these cars on these high speed ovals. Tracks like Richmond, Louden, Martinsville I think would be cool, but by putting them on these big high banked ovals is just looking for trouble. Like Jimmie said these cars are not built for the beating and banging that the banked ovals creates. When a tire comes off of a car because a car drifts up the banking into another car at speeds over 225mph there is no way that is going to end well. Like I said the drivers know the risk but running on these tracks imo is taking an unnessesary risk.

Did NASCAR stop racing at Daytona or plate racing in general when Dale Earnhardt died? No. Indy car shouldsn't stop racing at the 1.5 mile tracks either. Like Jamo said people have died on road courses too. While I doubt the IRL drivers are as scared at the road courses, Indycar racing is just flat out dangerous. They know the risks.

They just need to make the cars safer. Dan said the new car is much more fitted for racing on ovals. They need to slow them down on the mile and halfs so they are never over 200 mph instead of being 225 mph. They need to make the catche fences safer too. But if they could keep those cars on the ground their biggest issue would be solve. Perhaps even give them cover over their head to protect their heads.

Smokeshow14 wrote:Did NASCAR stop racing at Daytona or plate racing in general when Dale Earnhardt died? No. Indy car shouldsn't stop racing at the 1.5 mile tracks either. Like Jamo said people have died on road courses too. While I doubt the IRL drivers are as scared at the road courses, Indycar racing is just flat out dangerous. They know the risks.

They just need to make the cars safer. Dan said the new car is much more fitted for racing on ovals. They need to slow them down on the mile and halfs so they are never over 200 mph instead of being 225 mph. They need to make the catche fences safer too. But if they could keep those cars on the ground their biggest issue would be solve. Perhaps even give them cover over their head to protect their heads.

No they didn't stop running Daytona because of Earnhardt's death, but they made many many changes to the car and to the track to make it safer to race there. I can see bringing them back to the mile and a half tracks in Indycar if they too make the chages that will make it safer. Like you said slow them down somehow (I don't know can they put restrictor plates on an Indy car?) put some kind of cover on the wheels so they don't break off so easily everytime they make contact w/ something. Most importantly add some kind of a roll cage or a roof over the drivers. I don't think there is anything they can do to make the catch fences any better, unless they make them out of rubber or something. These cars are so light and come apart so easily that the catch fence is like a cheese grater when the cars come in contact w/ them. Racing is a dangerous sport, and it doesn't matter what kinds or how many safety measures they take it will always be dangerous, but to just ignore the dangers for the sake of making a dollar is just wrong.

Yes fans of racing like racing because of the speed, but once your goin fast is a lil bit slower gonna make a diff? Will we know the diff between 225 mph and 180 mph? Is that 45 mph really gonna kill us? Is that 45 mph gonna make the racing any less exciting? I doubt it.

Regards to Jimmy Johnsons comments about Indy cars, AJ Foyt says his comments were stupid and Johnson knows nothing about Indy cars,nor has he ever driven one. AJ says the safety in Indy cars has a 99.9% survival rate and he has driven both Nascar and Indy and states the cars are a #### of alot safer than the days he drove them, Andretti pretty much says the same about survival rate. THE ONLY THING I WANT TO KNOW IS WHY IN THE #### DOES INDY AND F-I STILL HAVE NO ROLL CAGE AROUND THE DRIVER AS THE FUNNY CARS AND DRAGSTERS DO

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wolfgang wrote:Regards to Jimmy Johnsons comments about Indy cars, AJ Foyt says his comments were stupid and Johnson knows nothing about Indy cars,nor has he ever driven one. AJ says the safety in Indy cars has a 99.9% survival rate and he has driven both Nascar and Indy and states the cars are a #### of alot safer than the days he drove them, Andretti pretty much says the same about survival rate. THE ONLY THING I WANT TO KNOW IS WHY IN THE #### DOES INDY AND F-I STILL HAVE NO ROLL CAGE AROUND THE DRIVER AS THE FUNNY CARS AND DRAGSTERS DO

I think they are doing that for next year wolfgang. I heard that somewhere. I guess it takes a death to do anything.